From a Wafadriver
Dear sir, Please extend my subscription for one year. I just recieved my TSH today. It is very good. However I would like to see more notes on Spectrum compatibility. I use my 2068 in Spectrum mode 99% of the time. I have a Wafadrive and would like information or notes if the programs can be saved to wafer, etc. The other drives and interfaces are always noted but never the Wafadrive. I use their port to print to an Epson-like printer (Blue Chip). Keep going and good luck.
Robert Steensen, West Palm Beach, FL
Dear Robert, Thank you for your comments. I think you’ll be interested in a column debuting in TS Horizons in this issue. “In Spec” is a new feature for Spectrum and Wafadrive users, written by Frank Davis, mastermind behind the Midwest TS Computer Fest. The initial installment is a review of Damco‘s program Trans Express for “Wafadrivers”. Among articles planned for future issues is a collection hints and tips for the Wafa. Check it out.
Right To Life Ad in #18
We received five letters of complaint concerning the pro-life message that appeared in TSH #18. We appreciate the concern and I suppose some points in these letters are quite valid. However I would like to indulge myself and answer some of these points individually.
Dear TSH,
Your publication has, in general, the best product information, program reviews, and programs of any magazine I’ve seen since SYNC died. The only criticism I might offer is in reference to the “Remember the Babies” graphic in issue #18. However strong someone’s personal beliefs may be on the issue of abortion, a computer magazine is no place to voice those beliefs. If I want information on the political issues of the day, I’ll seek it in the appropriate forum. If a message similar to that one appears in consequent issues, this subscription will definitely be my last. Otherwise, keep up the good work.
Sincerely, John Nicholson, Greenfield, MA
Dear John, Thank you for your letter. If no more items on the subject of abortion appear it will be because of the reasoning you have presented, despite the fact that I consider the abortion issue to transcend the political. Perhaps an ad telling the number of abortions that take place in the U.S. is not appropriate in a computer magazine. But then perhaps Newsweek shouldn’t print free ads telling people that they should Quit Smoking. After all, it’s definitely a political issue. It’s also a controversial, moral, and health-related issue. And I suppose many people are offended by such ads. In my opinion, Ohio Right-To-Life is a worthy, non-profit organization with an important message. I have been told that if I don’t like a particular TV show, I can always change the channel. If you don’t happen to like the message, you can turn the page, my friend.
Dear TS Horizons Editor:
Please cancel my subscription. No need to refund anything, even if it’s due. Mailing label is enclosed. I’ve enjoyed TS Horizons until last issue, which contained a distorted political entry on abortion, unprecedented in a computer-related publication. The ignorant anti-choice entry left a bad taste in my mouth & I know I won’t bother to read TS Horizons again; therefore the cancellation.
H. L., MA
Dear Hillel, Have you ever noticed that every person who is in favor of abortion has already been born? By the way, what was so “ignorant” about the ad in issue 18? I’m sure the figures are right (Over 1.5 million abortions a year – compared to about 4 million live births per yer.) Maybe the terminology is ignorant? But if we can talk about the “war” on drugs, the “war” on crime, or the “war” on pornography, can’t we talk about the “War on the Unborn?” By the way, your subscription expired with issue 13.
Dear Sir, I have enjoyed your publication ever since I first discovered it. Its value… is too obvious to need additional comment or praise. Which is why I was very much disturbed to find the ad from “Ohio Right To Life” in your April issue. Most special interest publications such as TSH make a point of limiting advertising content to the chosen subject, and for good reason. Introducing unrelated political issues of this sort…serves no useful purpose and carries the possibility of alienating part of your readership. I assume that the ad in question was paid for, and that someone on your staff is not intentionally misusing the magazine to push personal views. I do think that accepting it was an error in judgement, and hope that future issues of TSH will continue to deal exclusively with TS computing, both in contents and advertising.
Very truly yours, Lamont Downs, Las Vegas
Dear Lamont, I appreciate your advice and concern. I don’t actually have a staff (even though I use the editorial “we” pretty freely in these pages) and the ad was certainly not paid for. In fact, I spend a considerable amount of time working for the local Pro-Life group raising money for literature, advertising, etc. I would never charge for a pro-life ad in my own publication.
Nobody favors abortions! Some folks prefer to leave the options open if needed for desperation. I’d just rather you’d stick to your good job of TS reporting and avoid the politics – unless, of course, you want to rail against all nuclear weapons. I agree with Ozzie Osborn that nuclear war is the ultimate sin.
I am forever in your debt, Jack. You’ve shown me what may be the only thing that Ozzie and I could possibly agree on. I wish I could believe as you do that abortion is only a last resort for unfortunate women. The facts are that over 60% of all abortions are performed on white, middle- to upper-class women between the ages of 25 and 35, i.e., convenience. By the way, Planned Parenthood favors abortion – it’s a multi-million dollar industry for them. Anyway thank you for the kind words.
I appreciate your bearing with me through the preceeding. I suppose it only added insult to insult for many of you who did not appreciate the original. One thing that disappointed me was that I didn’t receive any letters of support for printing the ad. Perhaps even the people that agree with the message did not think it was appropriate in a computer magazine. Whatever the reason, of all the people I talked to earlier this month at the Cincinnati Computer Fest, nobody even mentioned the ad, so I feel that most people were not as offended as those who wrote in.
[Addendum: At the last moment before going to press we did receive a letter of support which is very much appreciated.
Dear TS Hor-izons:
I was very surprised to see the anti-abotion ad in issue number 18. Because it almost seems out of place, I predict you may “take some heat” from some of your readers, particularly those with opposing views. Even people opposed to abortion may suggest you should stick to computers and avoid controversial issues.
This is not the case. Abortion is a national malady of the first magnitude, which needs to be opposed on every front. Among the million and a half babies killed each year, there must be a significant number of people who would have been leaders and experts in every field, including computers. These aborted lives are a loss to every area of human achievement.
I salute your courage, and pray that “Remember the Babies” gives pause for more than a few of your subscribers.
Sincerely, Ted Shutes, Vermontville, MI
Dear Ted, Thank you. Your point is very well made. If abortion had been an alternative for say, Mrs. Sinclair, forty-some years ago and if her pregnancy had been somehow inconvenient, perhaps there would be no Clive Sinclair today. And no ZX81, Spectrum, TS 2068, QL, or even TS Horizons.]